Noam Chomsky on Legacy of Ariel Sharon: Not Speaking Ill of the Dead “Imposes a Vow of Silence”

democracynow.org – Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died Saturday after eight years in a coma at the age of 85. Sharon was one of the most dominant political figures in Israel’s history, involved in each of Israel’s major wars dating back to its founding in 1948. Among Palestinians, Sharon was one of the most reviled political figures in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is seen as father of the settlement movement and an architect of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that killed a reported 20,000 Palestinian and Lebanese. We discuss Sharon’s legacy with three guests: Noam Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University; and Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading scholars on the Israeli-Arab conflict. “There is a convention that you’re not supposed to speak ill of the recently dead, which unfortunately imposes a kind of vow of silence, because there is nothing good to say,” Chomsky says. “He was a brutal killer; he had one fixed idea in mind which drove him all his life — a greater Israel, as powerful as possible, as few Palestinians as possible… He doubtless showed courage and commitment to pursuing this ideal, which is an ugly and horrific one.”

democracynow.org – We look at one of the most shocking incidents in the career of the late former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon: the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Up to 2,000 Palestinians died on Sept. 16-17, 1982, when the Israeli military allowed a Christian militia to attack the camp. Then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was forced to resign after a special Israeli investigative panel declared him to be “personally responsible” for the massacre. We air a description of the killings by Ellen Siegel, a Jewish-American nurse who was working at Gaza Hospital at the Sabra camp at the time of the attacks, and speak with Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and Noam Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Rashid Khalidi & Noam Chomsky: For Peace Today, US Must End Support for Sharon’s Expansionist Legacy

democracynow.org – Upon the death of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, we look at how his legacy of separating Gaza from the West Bank and building a “separation wall” to seal off Israeli settlements has impacted the peace process in the Middle East today. Noam Chomsky, world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University; and Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading scholars on the Israeli-Arab conflict. “What [Secretary of State] John Kerry should do is insist on implementing a very broad international consensus, virtually universal, calling for a two-state settlement on the internationally recognized border,” Chomsky says. “This is supported by the entire world; it’s been blocked by the United States for 35 years. We should shift that policy, join the world, and carry out measures which might conceivably bring a semi-decent peace.”

Sharon, noted for his courage? if as in battles of the past, the warriors were in the front line of attack, surely these days of contemporary battles, the leaders are far from the front line of action, how can these leaders ever be described as courageous? the fact is, he is a Jew, as this nationality in particular has a culture that is well and truly ingrained that few ever rise above the Jewish indoctrination of what a Jew is, Sharon, if he were courageous, would rise above his allocated identity, unfortunately, this man was not man enough to rise above his the fate bestowed upon him, and took the easy road most travel. It must be said this road no doubt became a easy ride, until the past 8 years, and no longer in the seat of power, but now a casualty, as a victim, and who knows what went through his mind in this period of semi consciousness, this would be the most fascinating part, that so many would love to know?

In my opinion Sharon was a psychotic hoodlum. Listening to squirming Tony Blair deliver his ingratiating encomium in al-Naqab near Gaza was an excruciating experience.

The last refuge of a scoundrel may be patriotism as Dr Johnson averred, but in the case of this Mid-east “specialist” and his specious “faith foundation,” ostentatious narcissistic piety is the best sinecure.

According to the MailOnline Tony Blair’s role as Middle East envoy “…is costing British taxpayers £400,000…..The cash is helping to fund the ex-Prime Minister’s staff and office in Jerusalem.
It was thought the cost to Britain would be minimal because he is employed by the Quartet, an international coalition of the UN, the EU, the U.S. and Russia.
But the UK is paying a significant share of the total cost of at least £2million.
Four British diplomats have also been drafted in to work for Mr Blair in his peace process role.
Critics questioned why taxpayers are funding such a large amount when Mr Blair does not report to Parliament, but directly to the Quartet.
LibDem Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott said: “British taxpayers should only pay their fair share of Blair.”
Former Tory Minister Lord Trefgarne, who demanded the figures in a Parliamentary question, said the expenses are “pretty substantial”.
Lords Minister Baroness Royall of Blaisdon told peers Mr Blair received no salary in his role as quartet representative – but he is entitled to claim for travel and other expenses.
Last week Mr Blair came under fire after charging £240,000 for a “boring” speech in China…”

So, as Johnson is said to have affirmed subsequently, paraphrasing sources as noteworthy as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in the C12th ~ “Hell is paved with good intentions…” & tax-payers’ generosity of course.

I suspect Sharon may have acquired some comatose intimations of his own personal Hell, whilst awaiting universal dissolution. Eight years could be a very long time, in another state of un-consciousness.

Operation: #OneMoreVote

The FCC voted to repeal net neutrality, letting internet providers like Verizon and Comcast impose new fees, throttle bandwidth, and censor online content. But we can stop them by using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). We need one more vote to win in the Senate, and we’re launching an Internet-wide push to get it.

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